Donald C. Palm Obituary
Deeply loved, widely respected, and always happy to take the time to share a few laughs with those who dropped by unexpectedly, Donald Charles Palm joined so many close friends and family already on the other side of the final curtain call on August 17, 2026, at 3:33 PM following surgery. At the age of 82, his passion for life remained fully intact, but years of hard work created much wear and tear to his machine.
Born in Rice Lake, Wisconsin, Don also spent large segments of his childhood in Milwaukee and Greenfield, forming multiple life-long friendships with the boys in his neighborhoods. Don and Sher moved to Mukwonago in 1980 to enable Don to advance his long-term dream of owning a semi-truck body shop, having spent the prior sixteen years working at International Harvester honing his skills as a master semi-truck body man. Don spent the continuing decades establishing and then running Palm's Truck & Autobody, shutting the business down in July 2007. He remained connected to former customers who often stopped by to share a hello, a laugh or a beer (likely all 3) long after he "retired". Don continued to hang out in his shop working on diverse projects until his final trip to the hospital.
Don was very committed to his four children and maintained countless long-term close relationships with friends from his childhood, his decades living in Greenfield, business constituents that became new friends, his Mukwonago neighborhood and surrounding area, the members of the Don Palm Wednesday night beer and peanut tribe, as well as his classic car and Harley buddies.
Don loved traveling to new places. Every single vacation, last minute maintenance to a motorhome was the norm until it was time to hit the road. And every single vacation Don would end up under the motorhome fixing a mechanical issue, turning the air blue around the vehicle with vocalizations a tad too spicey for an obit. He loved traveling back roads only, which added so much flavor to vacations, wandering into many unexpected events and experiences. Don's love of riding motorcycles started young with his first purchase of a scooter at about the age of fourteen. He moved on to the big bikes at fifteen. Don's cloning an image of James Dean in a picture shared at his service resonates bad boy/good man.
When his life settled down a bit in his fifties, he decided to reboot his youthful love of riding. Don saw a Sportster for sale in Mukwonago and decided to buy it. Asked if he was sure he wanted to deal with kicking, kicking, kicking that was likely to come along with owning a Sporty (so common in that particular genre of HD bikes), he confirmed he was. After a few months of frustration, his decision to go to the Auto Pool and buy a wrecked dresser to rebuild turned into a beautiful Ultra Glide that Don and Sher both fell in love with and took many long-distance trips on. Occasionally Don would rumble out of the shop at which point Sher would jump into jeans, grab her bike glasses, and run out the door with a huge grin on her face. Memories are continually rebooted every time Harley's roar past the front of the Palm property on the heavily bike trafficked state highway.
Don is survived by his loving wife and partner of 46 years, Sherrie "Sher" (Kastner) Palm. His legacy continues via his children Joseph Carl (Kathy) Palm, Paulette Christine (Jason) Babbitt, Niki Sue (Jamie) Anderson, and Erik Sven Palm, 11 grandchildren, and 11 great grandchildren. Also left to cherish his memory are countless nephews, nieces, cousins, and a plethora of in-laws and friends.
We will all miss Don's smile. His warm personality. His sense of humor. His strength. His determination. Time will soften the silence, and Don's energy will remain alive and vibrant in all who knew him until we each get to reconnect with him on the other side of the great divide.
A visitation will take place on Saturday, September 12 at 1PM, followed by a funeral service at 2PM at Schmidt & Bartelt Funeral Home in Mukwonago (930 Main St).
Join us as we re-ignite the light on our memories and adventures with Don Palm~ In the past year, Don has mentioned several times wanting to have a Don's Dead gathering so he could celebrate alongside his many friends before he headed off on his next journey. Rest assured he will be hovering just a whisper out of sight as we come together to refresh the countless memories we have all shared with him over the decades at a luncheon following the service.
Visitation Saturday, September 12, 2026 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM Schmidt & Bartelt Funeral & Cremation Service Mukwonago, 930 Main Street Mukwonago, WI 53149 Phone: (262) 363-7126.
Funeral Service Saturday, September 12, 2026 2:00 PM Schmidt & Bartelt Funeral & Cremation Service Mukwonago 930 Main Street.
